


To Be Really Married

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: M/M, Stag Party, drunks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21953809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: Ben's a bit drunk at his stag do. Callum's okay with that.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72
Collections: Yuletide Madness 2019





	To Be Really Married

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sundaydriver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundaydriver/gifts).



"Oh, I could never get married. Not me. Big man Ben Mitchell. Why would I do that, Lola? Just because people think it should be legal doesn't mean I give a shit."

"All right, all right," Ben says, waving a hand in Lola's general direction. He manages to hit her on the nose with the tip of his finger. She responds with a deep laugh, throwing her head back and collapsing against Jay. 

"I think maybe it's time to cut you both off," Jay says, giving Callum a hopeful look.

Callum shrugs and throws an arm around Ben, pulling him in close and kissing him on the mouth. "I don't know. What does the groom think?"

Ben smiles at Callum, bright and happy and pissed to all hell. "Guess it depends on the other groom."

Callum smiles and brushes his nose with Ben's. Lola cheers, and Jay sighs theatrically. "I just want my groom to be happy."

"I want my groom to be happy," Ben says, and he wiggles his way onto Callum's lap so they're pressed chest-to-chest. "That's why we're having this double stag night."

"So you've said. Nine times," Jay says. 

Ben bends backwards to look at Jay. "Huh?"

"Nothing," Jay replies, and he and Callum share a knowing grin. It's not that Callum and Jay aren't a bit tipsy themselves. It's that Ben and Lola got a head start because they both took a half-day at work so they could attend a parent-teacher conference with Lexie's grade five instructor, and once they'd finished, decided they'd get an early start on the festivities planned for the evening.

"Callum," Ben says, swinging his arms wildly up and down. He hits a mostly empty pint glass that Jay catches before it can crash to the floor. "Callum. I'm upside-down."

"I know," Callums says. He splays his hands across Ben's back and pushes so that Ben straightens up. "There you are," he says when Ben's upright again.

"God, you're fucking cute," Ben says. "You know, I gave up crime for you?"

"I know," Callum replies. It's an easy admittance. He hadn't taken it well when Ben had first admitted the very long ( _long_ ) list of criminal acts he'd been involved in, but halfway into the screaming argument (with Callum still in his patrol uniform, no less), Ben had shouted, "I WANT YOU TO BE PROUD TO BE MY HUSBAND," and Callum had come up short. 

"Husband?" he'd asked. "Husband?"

"I didn't," Ben had said, then ducked his head and stared at his trainers. "Not right this second, I mean," he'd said to the floor. "Just. You know. I've kind of been…"

"Thinking about being my husband?" Callum had asked, unable to stop the smile that had stolen across his face. 

"Shut up," Ben had said, but he'd lifted his eyes and met Callum's gaze. "I want to be honest because you deserve it. I swear I haven't done one thing wrong since you started with the cop house."

"Before that, though?" Callum had asked. He couldn't help himself. 

"I'll start from the beginning, if you want. Knicked sweets from the shop, aged five."

Callum had stared at Ben, waiting for a joke or a smile or an attempt to get away with everything. Instead, Ben had simply met his gaze and stayed quiet, let Callum decide for himself if he trusted Ben's sincerity. "Let's skip ahead," Callum had said, "Concentrate on the crimes I might find if I look you up on the computer."

Back the The Prince Albert -- Ben's mum wouldn't ever hear of them having their stag do anywhere else-- "I gave up crime for you," Ben says again, his smile blinding bright and perfect by Callum's estimation. "But it's okay. Because I'm still gay."

"Well, good," Callum replies, kissing Ben's chin. "That's the part I'm really concerned with."

Ben outright giggles, then ducks his head so he's pressing his face against Callum's shoulder. He lifts up a moment later, then flops backwards again so he's looking at Lola and Jay. "Did you guys know you can be gay and _not_ do crimes?"

"Yes," Jay says with great solemnity as Lola bursts into another peal of laughter. "I'd heard it was possible."

"It is possible!" Ben says. He looks at Callum again, and his expression turns deeply serious. "You're having fun, right? You're liking your stag do?"

"Best one I've ever had," Callum says. "Best one I could ask for."

Tomorrow morning, Ben will have a hangover and fight like mad not to snap at Lexi. He'll grumble at Callum that there's no point in him being the responsible copper type if it means Ben has hangovers, and Callum will make him a brew and kiss him on the cheek and tell him that even the world's best coppers can only do so much in the face of the sort of silly choices the diabolical Ben Mitchell makes every day of his life.

"And what about you?" Ben will ask, because he asks every time they have this faux-argument during his hangover. "Are you a silly choice?"

"Depends, I guess," Callum will answer as he always does, "do you want me to be silly?"

"No," Ben will say. "I want you to be Callum."

That's how he'd proposed even. Not hungover, mind. "I don't want you to be silly," he'd said, down on one knee and tears rolling down his face. "I just want you to be Callum. My husband."

Callum's own face had been wet with tears. "I want to be Callum, your husband," he'd replied. 

And they'd kissed, and Ben had put the ring on his finger, and now Callum groans as he hauls Ben upright again and feels the press of his ring against his finger and thinks about how Ben will look next week as they stand up for their vows and Callum puts a ring on his finger, too. 

"I love you," Callum says, drawn back to the present by Ben dipping down for a messy kiss. 

Ben whoops into Callum's kiss, and Callum can only laugh and hold on as Ben announces to the whole pub that Callum loves him. There's a general cheer, then a toast, and Ben keeps bragging, and Callum keeps holding him close because there's nothing else he'd rather do.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Happy to have a bestie who can Britpick like no one else.


End file.
